5 Best Makoto Shinkai Films That Will Stay With You Forever

Breathtaking illustrations, poetic and introspective storytelling, and stories that often revolve around themes of love, longing, and human connection, Makoto Shinkai needs no introduction for animation lovers.

With a knack for capturing the small, seemingly ordinary moments and details of life, his films are sensitive to the ephemeral nature of life and beauty. His narratives are more like poetic monologues, shifting between emotions and contemplation.

If you’ve been avoiding animation due to its typical fast-paced, action-oriented, exaggerated narrative, Shinkai’s filmography is definitely going to surprise you. Shinkai’s visual language is focused on the relentless pursuit of the “art of stillness” through static visuals that carry delicate emotions. At their core, Makoto Shinkai films are known for their distinctive combination of hyper-realistic visual artistry that captures both the beauty and melancholy of the mundane.

In this article, we’re exploring the best works by Shinkai.

The Top 5 Makoto Shinkai Films

If you love films that compel you to feel, this is your pot of gold.

1. Your Name (2016)

We were taught as kids to keep away from strangers, but what if you realize that your soul gets swapped with that of a stranger's from time to time? Set against the backdrop of urban Tokyo, Your Name centers on a search for a real connection in a world where we are isolated by our modern lives. As the two teenagers, Taki Tachibana (voiced by Ryûnosuke Kamiki) and Mitsuha Miyamizu (voiced by Mone Kamishiraishi), begin mysteriously swapping souls, they feel an urge to meet each other. Their search for each other is a metaphor for the universal feeling of missing someone who is a stranger, but feels like a part of you.

Shinkai highlights the contrast between traditions and modernism as he intersects Mitsuha’s rural life with Taki’s fast-paced life in Tokyo. Beyond their romance, their bond and chemistry also symbolize that traditions and modernity can co-exist, and progress can be embraced without cutting ties with one’s heritage. Arguably, Your Name brought Shinkai under the mainstream spotlight.

2. 5 Centimeters Per Second (2007)'

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A three-part film, structured as a triptych, 5 Centimeters Per Second follows Takaki Tōno (voiced by Kenji Mizuhashi) and his childhood friend Akari Shinohara (voiced by Yoshimi Kondō/Ayaka Onoue), as their friendship (and something more) slowly succumbs to the test of time and distance.

In the first segment, we witness the heartbreaking separation of the two friends owing to their families’ relocation. After Akari’s relocation, while the two try to maintain their connection through letters, fate pulls them further apart when Takaki’s family relocates further away. Before leaving, Takaki visits Akari one last time, but once again, fate and a severe snowstorm cut the meeting short. The two spend a night together in an abandoned cabin and part ways with a heavy heart.

In the next segment, we follow Takaki, who’s now a third-year senior in Tanegashima. Even years later, he is still waiting for his estranged friend and love, Anari, ignoring the feelings of another classmate who is clearly in love with him.

In the last segment, fate brings Takaki and Anari together for a fleeting moment, as Takaki one day suddenly spots a familiar female face at a railroad crossing. But a passing train cuts his view before he can confirm if it is really Anari that he saw. They cross paths one last time in their life but don’t meet, symbolizing how life moves on, with or without you.

Featuring Shinkai’s signature animation style: meticulous, hyper-detailed illustrations, rendered with lush realism, reflecting the characters’ emotional states. Cherry Blossoms become a recurring motif, both visual and philosophical, in 5 Centimeters Per Second. The title refers to the speed at which cherry blossom petals fall. Visually, cherry blossoms are everywhere, cuing in the theme of impermanence in life. Last but not least, 5 Centimeters Per Second is a masterclass in the use of silence, ambience, and foley to elevate your storytelling.

3. The Garden of Words (2013)

A delicate exploration of loneliness and personal growth through human connection, Shinkai’s The Garden of Words captures the friendship between a 15-year-old boy, Takao Akizuki ( voiced by Miyu Irino), who aspires to be a shoemaker when he grows up, and a 27-year-old woman, Yukari Yukino (voiced by Kana Hanazawa), who find each other in a Tokyo garden and since then, meet each other on rainy mornings.

Shinkai uses words sparsely, paired with lush visuals, turning silence into the movie’s emotional anchor. The narrative heavily relies on the atmosphere to convey complex feelings. What the two share can easily be misunderstood as romance, but their bond is built on personal healing rather than overt romantic fulfillment, and every frame in The Garden of Words mirrors their quiet yet profoundly transformative interactions.

4. Suzume (2022)

Widely hailed as Shinkai’s best work to date, Suzume centers on Suzume Iwato (voiced by Nanoka Hara), a high school student who bumps into a man, Souta Munakata (voiced by Hokuto Matsumura), one day at an abandoned site on her way to school. On discovering that the man is investigating an abandoned site, curiosity gets the better of her, causing her to trespass on the location, where she finds a door that is a gateway to an alternate dimension, marking the beginning of a fantastical adventure.

Suzume marks technical innovation as the project blends 2D and 3D animation. While the majority of the animation is done in 2D, key elements such as the supernatural worm are animated in 3D, leveraging the juxtaposition of the two to emphasize the essence of otherworldliness in the story. Shinkai uses multiple recurring visual motifs, the most notable being abandoned and dilapidated doors symbolizing loss, and butterflies symbolizing transformation and resilience.

5. Weathering With You (2019)

An offbeat story of romance, Weathering With You follows a 16-year-old Hodaka Morishima (voiced by Kotaro Daigo) who fled his rural home to live in the city. In the city, he becomes friends with an orphaned girl, Hina (voiced by Nana Mori), raising her younger brother, all on her own. Hina possesses a supernatural ability that gives her the power to control Tokyo’s weather, just by praying. As their bond deepens, the two start a business together based on Hina’s powers, but soon she realizes that her gift comes at a personal cost. Meanwhile, their business draws the attention of the authorities.

Shinkai uses the Japanese urban environment and climate anxieties both as a canvas and a metaphor, inviting viewers to reflect on love, happiness, and sacrifice. It’s a story about weathering storms and difficulties together. Shinkai’s use of torrential, relentless rain as an emotional metaphor for the characters' struggles is a masterclass in visual storytelling. Shinkai goes back to traditional visual motifs, such as rays of sunshine piercing through clouds to symbolize hope and the interplay of light and shadow on a character’s face to express angst, which is refreshing in today’s modern storytelling, where we are seemingly moving away from the basics.

Shinkai has also created remarkable short films that resonate with his signature style. In fact, his debut film, Other World, a one-minute-long short film, is widely acclaimed for its animation, if not its plot. Someone’s Gaze (2013) and Distant Star (2002) are some of his other notable animated short films.

Have you watched any of the films on our list? Let us know which one you like the most.